black hollywood
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When It Comes to Conquering Hollywood, Jay Ellis Is Feeling Secure
“I always wanted to act,” Jay Ellis tells The Root while reminiscing about his earliest aspirations. “I had taken a couple of random theater classes as electives when I was in college, but I [also] played college basketball. I couldn’t tell my teammates ‘Yo, y’all want to come check me out in Jesus Christ Superstar?’”…
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Won't We Do It! NAACP Image Awards Weekend Proves Black Glamour Is Winning
You know, there’s a very good reason the NAACP Image Awards ceremony takes place in late February—and it’s not simply because it’s Black History Month. It’s because, after far too many awards seasons in which we are only marginally included—including this past one—at the Image Awards, we get the last word, as excellence is recognized…
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Forget the Awards. Everyone Knows We're Really Here for the Afterparty
Real talk? No shade—okay, maybe just a little—but if we had a choice between being invited to the Oscars and being invited to the legendary Vanity Fair Oscars afterparty, well…we’re disco-napping and will see y’all after the Best Picture is announced. And apparently, much of Hollywood feels the same way, since the silver carpet at…
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Stand Up! The Oscars May Not Give Cynthia Erivo Her Flowers (Yet), But We Will
Did you watch the 2020 Academy Awards? No? Was it because the #OscarsSoWhite? I mean, they were (and accordingly, we’re going to have our lightest Oscars slideshow ever today), but in a year that denied both people of color and women their nomination shine (shoutout to Natalie Portman for having the names of this year’s…
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The 2020 #BAFTAsSoWhite, but We Were Still Rooting for Everybody Black on the Red Carpet
Oh, Awards Season 2020. You have been, for the most part, a sadly predictable parade of white talent celebrating other white talents and, well, as Joaquin Phoenix noted while accepting his award at the 73rd annual British Academy of Film and Television Awards (better known as the BAFTAs), that’s on y’all. But like Maya Angelou…
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Janelle Monáe to Be Honored With the Human Rights Campaign's Equality Award
As both artist and activist, the once enigmatic Janelle Monáe has emerged as an increasingly identifiable presence in recent years, not only delivering stellar albums and onscreen performances but a more transparent lens into her life. In 2018, the award-winning singer, actor, and producer both delivered the genre-defying and Grammy-nominated Dirty Computer and the announcement…
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Because Too Much Rihanna Is Never Enough, There's Now a 'Rihannazine'
She slays, she plays and she stays atop headlines; and while Rihanna’s “Navy” continues to await her ninth album, the bad girl continues to deliver other unexpected pleasures. Her latest? A co-collaboration with i-D Magazine titled “Rihannazine” (of course). The 144-page, limited-edition, advertisement-free, “visually-driven” issue was shot entirely by legendary photographer Mario Sorrenti. And in…
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Where Was the Color at the 2020 SAG Awards? On the Red Carpet!
No, Cynthia Erivo didn’t snag the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture (say that seven times fast) for her titular role in Harriet. But she did win one of The Glow Up’s Best Dressed nods for the incredible custom Schiaparelli couture ball…
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How to Win an Oscar If You’re Black
The #OscarsSoWhite, they called the police on the BET Awards. The #OscarsSoWhite, Pete Buttigieg was almost nominated for an award. The #OscarsSoWhite, Cuba Gooding Jr. tried to marry his statue. On Monday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominees for the 92nd Academy Awards and, as usual, they’re rooting for everybody…
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Black Excellence: Ava DuVernay Receives First Directors Guild Award Nomination
While the Golden Globes may not have seen her (or any black people to be real), the Directors Guild of America certainly has. The Hollywood Reporter has, um, reported that the Directors Guild of America has released a partial list of their awards nominees for 2020. Among the names released was that of writer, director,…